The movie occasionally makes an unexpectereference -- though with more desperation than wit.

Funny? This one is. It's also sweet and thoughtful.

The shtick based on whether other people understand him is subtle enough for 79 minutes.

Gutsy romance-drama that breaks a cardinal rule of storytelling and pop psychology: its iconic lovers aren't forced by a tragedy to learn that they shouldn't depend on each other to feel whole.

A film that might make you cry watching it is just as likely to give you the creeps thinking about it afterward, which is as it should be.

The characters are so full-bodied and the feelings so raw and complex that I'd call this the best thing he's (Singleton) done to date.

While few of the paper-thin characters register long enough to make much of an impression, Diesel carries the movie.

Too much plot and too much faith in special effects and adolescent humor doom this "Babe" wannabe.

Powerfully illustrates what globalization has been doing to underdeveloped countries around the world.

Old-time music aficionado John Hartford is on hand to hold it all together, and in fact his presence is the most gripping element of this disappointingly flat production.

Unafraid to look absurd but lacks the self-conviction needed to come off as camp.

Drove violence to the point of redundancy.

An amiable black comedy.

Ridiculous but occasionally fun.

It's marvelous or unwatchable.

Demands to be treated with conviction as parody if not as science fiction.

Watchable, if at times familiar.

Visually imaginative and even persuasively spiritual.

Director Bruce Beresford -- not intending to be funny but succeeding wildly.

Mild gross-out comedy integrates a non sequitur -- a running joke made by a sidekick -- into the plot, providing some payoff.

The theories about sexuality and trauma artfully advanced in this previously unreleased 1975 debut of director Catherine Breillat (Romance, Fat Girl) are more nuanced and intuitive than those of most schools of psychology.

Funny, moving, and insightful look at questions about identity and community.

If you decide to hit the concessions stand (where you're bound to have lots of company), I'd suggest going out for popcorn during either the first hour or the third, because the second features some pretty good big-screen effects involving planes, ships, and explosions.

One girl's melancholy (beautifully expressed by actress Kerry Washington) is a response to a fractured romance.

The sincerity of their performances (Lopez and Caviezel) overrides the intermittent implausibilities of Gerald Dipego's script.

A movie whose story may be even more innovative than the superreal solidity of the animated characters.

Diverting, energetic, and even reasonably satisfying, so long as you aren't looking for a real musical to take its place.

The narrative decays more quickly than the characters.